When a single proton (p) is smashed against a lead ion (Pb), unexpected events may occur: in the most violent p-Pb collisions, correlations of particles exhibit similar features as in lead-lead collisions where quark-gluon plasma is formed. This and other amazing results were presented by the ALICE experiment at the SQM2013 conference held in Birmingham from 21 to 27 July.

I am a physics/astrophysics student at The University of Manchester. I also did a year in exchange at National University of Singapore this year. My background also contains 12 National Olympiads in 4 different scientific fields (one of them being Astronomy, where I won a 3rd prize) in my home country, Romania. I am currently in my fourth year in Manchester.

I am currently an undergraduate student at the University of Malta starting my final year in a combined degree in Mathematics and Physics. I am more interested in theoretical physics rather than experimental physics, although experiments are there to prove or rather more likely to disprove theories that try to explain the reason behind some event which took place somewhere in the universe. My main interests in theoretical physics are quantum gravity, cosmology, and extra dimensions.

Without doubt, it's every particle physicist's dream to be involved in some experiment at CERN. And my dream has just come true.
My name is Chilufya MWEWA and I'm from Zambia. I am currently pursuing a master's degree in experimental High Energy Physics (HEP) at the Unversity of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa.

I first heard about HEP when I attended the African school of physics in the year 2010. Since then, my career direction has been towards HEP and I have since desired to take part in the amazing work being done at CERN.

I have always wanted to explore the world. Study abroad is the perfect choice since I can continue my study and see the world in parallel. CERN summer student programme was advertised in many universities across Thailand. Due to its short period, eight weeks for non-member states, I thought it would be a perfect step for me in going abroad. I knew CERN as a place where the LHC is, but did not know much about the inside. This is my first time at CERN, and I hope it is not my last.

I had heard about the CERN summer student programme many years ago when a relative of mine was working here as a summer student. This winter I was in my third year of Engineering Physics in Aalto University (Helsinki, Finland) and CERN was advertised in our university. I had no plans for the summer so I decided to apply. The application deadline came rapidly and soon I found myself writing furiously my motivation letter on the eve of the deadline. I managed to click the "Submit" button before the deadline. The surprise was actual when I received an email that I was chosen.

My name is Silvia, and I am the girl from the island. I come from a village in the south-west coast of Sardinia, where the starry sky in summer nights gave birth to my passion for physics. Then, like some of my friends love to joke about, I met Hilbert spaces and group theory and so my life changed. Now I study theoretical physics for my master's degree at the University of Torino.